childbirth

The decrease comes after a year when the maternal death rate was the highest in nearly six decades: more than 1,200 U.S. women died in 2021 during pregnancy or shortly after childbirth.

After years of high rates, the country hit a new high during the pandemic, far exceeding rates in other developed nations. Black women are at especially high risk.

Florida is one of the least generous states when it comes to public health insurance. About 1 in 6 women of childbearing age here are uninsured, reducing their access to quality prenatal care and making it more difficult to begin a healthy pregnancy.

That's what epidemiologist Jenny Cresswell of the World Health Organization said of death rate data in a new report she authored — "equivalent to almost 800 deaths a day or a death every 2 minutes."

Fifteen states haven’t moved to extend Medicaid coverage for new moms beyond the minimum of 60 days. But at least four are expected to consider proposals in upcoming legislative sessions.

Among almost 4 million births in 2021, nearly 52,000 occurred at home, a CDC report showed. That's up about 12% from 2020, following a 22% rise from 2019 to 2020.

Many patients enroll in government-funded Medicaid health insurance when they become pregnant, because qualifying income levels are higher than for those who aren’t pregnant.

Despite years of efforts to reduce the use of C-sections in delivering babies, rates remain high, especially in the South. Black women, particularly, are more likely to give birth by C-section.

A bill under discussion in the state House would help babies born into low-income families get access to breast milk when its needed.

Florida lawmakers appear to be fast tracking a controversial bill that seeks to regulate the state’s pregnancy crisis centers. The measure that wades...